First Call of Duty Ghosts DLC, Onslaught, Coming Jan. 28 to Xbox

The first of four Call of Duty Ghosts DLC will be available for download later this month. As expected via the co-marketing relationship between Microsoft and Activision, the DLC will launch first on Xbox One and Xbox 360. A release date for the first Call of Duty Ghosts DLC on other platforms was not announced.

Called Onslaught, the DLC will feature four new multiplayer paps, a new “Maverick” dual-purpose weapon, and “Episode 1: Nightfall,” the first installment in Call of Duty Ghosts Extinction’s four-part episodic storyline.

Call of Duty Ghosts is currently the most-played multiplayer game on Xbox 360 via Xbox Live.

Onslaught is included as part of the Call of Duty Ghosts DLC Season Pass, which gives fans access to four Call of Duty Ghosts DLC Packs planned to release in 2014. Onslaught will be the first, followed by Devastation, Invasion and Nemesis.

The COD Ghosts Season Pass costs $49.99. Activision did not announce stand-alone pricing for the Onslaught DLC pack.

The four maps included in Call of Duty Ghosts Onslaught each have distinct environments, are small to medium in scale and support varying gameplay. The first map, Fog, is a small to medium sized map set alongside the banks of a murky lake. Every area within Fog is a chilling homage to classic horror films, from an eerie campsite, flickering TVs, torture chamber, and seemingly abandoned structures as players try to unlock the map’s dark secret. If a player happens to find and complete a specific Field Order, they become the embodiment of evil and don the persona of one of cinema’s most iconic horror characters, Michael Myers. Additionally, the entire soundscape changes to the eerily familiar Halloween theme music so other players know to run for their lives.

Next is BayView, a close-quarters map set on a coastal Californian boardwalk packed with seaside gift stores and an aquarium, offering players fast-paced run-and-gun matches. Players must also be wary of the deadly artillery strike enemies can call-in from a Naval Destroyer anchored just offshore.

The third map, Containment, transports players to a war-torn Mexican village, where the battle rages along both banks of the dried out riverbed. The action in this compact map centers on the remains of a small bridge holding a hi-jacked truck filled with leaking radioactive material. Surrounded by a myriad of abandoned bars, cafes, a church and a pool hall, “Containment” also features elevated rooftop vantage points for players who prefer longer-range engagements.

Onslaught’s fourth map, Ignition, launches players into an aging Florida space launch facility. Inspired by Scrapyard, the popular map from Modern Warfare 2, Ignition has been reimagined with dynamic gameplay elements and plenty of action both above and below ground. How do firefights in abandoned warehouses, flame trenches and a massive transport crawler sound? As if rockets crash-landing into the map weren’t enough, the close-quarters combat is further complicated via two separate rocket test engines sites that opposing forces can trigger, sending massive fireballs into the already intense firefights, and the failed launch of a massive rocket has a dramatic effect on the combat.

This first Call of Duty Ghosts DLC pack will also add a deadly new weapon called the “Maverick.” This gun is a dual-purpose Assault Rifle or Sniper Rifle that players can choose how to use depending on their tactical needs. As such, it’s a first for the Call of Duty franchise. Outfitted with a lightweight wood stock this weapon can be selected in either the Assault or the Sniper Rifle class. As an Assault Rifle, the weapon’s fire rate becomes fully automatic with high damage at a decent range. As a Sniper Rifle, the Maverick sports an advanced scope and a semi-auto rate of fire.

And finally, included in first Call of Duty Ghosts DLC pack is the debut of Extinction’s four-part episodic narrative, “Episode 1: Nightfall.” Introducing a narrative driven by two new characters, and featuring two all-new alien species and an exclusive weapon, Episode 1: Nightfall is a fast and frenetic, action-packed continuation of the original Extinction experience in Call of Duty Ghosts.

Set in a remote facility hidden deep within the Alaskan wilderness, the shadowy Nightfall Program has been researching the origins of the newly revealed alien threat. A small recon team of elite soldiers must infiltrate the site to retrieve intel and exterminate the hordes of savage creatures, and along the way uncover a three-story tall terror unlike anything they’ve faced before.